jensen



0. C. JENSEN.

AUTOMOBILE HORN.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. II, 1916.

1,318,673. Patented Oct 14, 1919.

OLUF oanivsnn, or NEW Yemen. Y.

AUTOMQBILE-I-IORN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenteid Oct. 14., 1919,

Application filed February ll, 1916. Serial No. 77,583.-

To all whont'z't may concern;

Be it known that I,OLUF C. JENSEN, a

citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of NewYork and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Automobile-Horns, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to signaling devices such: as are used onautomobiles and other fast-moving vehicles and has referenceparticularly to hand-operated devices of this character.

These hand-operated devices, as heretofore constructed, have been moreor less ackward or unhandy and hard to operate, and one of the objectsof this invention is toeliminate this unhandiness of operation and wrender-such devices operable by a single, natural and easy movement ofthe hand; a i

- Other objects are to lessen the number of working parts and to providea thoroughly practical simply constructed device which can beproduced ata low cost.

These objects I have accomplished by mounting the impact wheel of thedevice on an axis inclined downwardly and forwardly with respect to thesound-producing diaphragm and by'operating said wheel by a rack gearedto said wheel and mounted to slide on a downward and forward inclinesubstantially parallel to the axis of said impact wheel. Thedrivegearing is preferably arranged to operate on the down stroke of therack, thus making the device operableby a downward, forward thrust ofthe hand, a natural movement and onein which considerable force can beapplied with but slight exertion on the part of the operator. Otherfeatures and details of structure will appear as the specificationproceeds, attention being directed to the accompanying drawing, forminga part hereof and wherein I have illustrated the invention embodied in apractical and preferred form.

' In the drawing, Figure 1 is a'vertical sectional view taken throughthe casing of the horn and showing the impact wheel and other parts inelevation; Fig. 2 is a detail view of the gear and rack, as seen fromthe rear; Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the plane ofthe line 3-3 of- Fig. 1, looking down on top of the impact wheel. 1

Considering the drawing now more in detail, 5 designates asound-producing diaphragm. suitably supported in a casing 6 andvibrated, in the construction illustrated, by the direct engagement ofthe roughened; rimv portion 7 of an impact wheel 8 there with.

This impact wheel is shown journaled on an axis 10, set on a downwardand forwardv incline convergent with respect to the plane of thediaphragm, and. therim of the wheel isshown beveled in substantialparallelism with the plane of the diaphragm. The im pact elements orprotuberances on the rim of thecwheel are shown engaging with a contactelement or button 11; at the center of the diaphragm. I 1. t

I A spindle 12, serves in the illustration, as a pivotal support for theimpact wheel, the wheel being rotatably engaged on the lower end portionof the spindle, and thespindle being supported in its inclined positionby a step bearing 13 at the bottom and a bear ing 14 at the top. Theimpact wheel is made relatively heavy, to give it a flywheel effect andit may, as indicated, rest upon and 'be supported by the step bearing13, this bearing then serving in the double capacity as a thrust bearingfor both the spindle and the impact wheel.

a 15 designates the actuating inember, in the form of asl1de-rack,rectangular in crosssection, mounted to reciprocate, in aguideway 16, also rectangular in cross-section, said slide beingdisposed substantially parallel to the axis of the impact wheel andprovided on its side adjacent the spindle, with teeth 17, inclined tomatch the teeth of a spiral gear 18 fast on the upper end of thespindle, which gear 18 extends through a suitable opening in the side ofmember 16 to engage teeth 17. The upper end portion of the slideprojects upwardly, and rearwardly through the casing and is providedwith a suitable handle 19.

In the form of the invention illustrated, the impact wheel is operatedonly on the downward thrust of the slide or rack, this result beingattained by interposinga oneway driving connection at a point betweenthe rack and the wheel, this connection being shownas a ratchet 20 onthe spindle engaging a spring-pressed pawl 21 mounted on the upper faceof the wheel, the teeth of the ratchet being faced to drive thepawl onlywhen the spindle is rotated on the down thrust of the rack.

A suitable spring 22 is usually provided for returning the rack to theuppermost, extended position indicated in Fig. 1, and a stop-pin 24: onsliderack 15, engages with the upper end of a slot 25 in member 16, toprevent the outward movement of the slide beyond the position shown inFig. 1, that is, out of operative engagement with gear member 18.

A sound-amplifying device, such as the horn 23, is usually provided, thesame being made more or less ornamental in form, as may be desired.

Signal device of this character are usually mounted in a positionforward of and below the arm of the operator, from which the convenienceand ease of operation of my invention will be the more readily apparent,it being seen that a natural downward and forward thrust of the handserves to operate the device, this movement involving a straightening ofthe arm, in which considerable force can be exerted with the expenditureof but little energy. In addition to the advantages as to ease andfacility of operation, it will be seen that the invention consists ofbut few, inexpensive parts, simple in design and not liable to get outof order.

I prefer that the impact wheel 8 shall be a shell of steel or othermetal, with the teeth 7 formed therein as by drawing or stamping, with acore of heavy and cheaper metal set in to give the necessary weight.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the true spirit andscope of the invention, and I would have it understood that the termsemployed herein are used in a descriptive rather than in a limitingsense, except as may be required by the state of the prior art.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of adiaphragm, an impact wheel journaled on an axis disposed in convergentrelation to the plane of said diaphragm, cooperating means on the rim ofsaid wheel and said diaphragm for vibrating the diaphragm, an operatingslide mounted to reciprocate in a guideway in a plane substantiallyparallel to the axis of said impact wheel and drive gearing between saidoperating slide and said impact wheel.

2. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of adiaphragm, a spindle journaled to rotate on an axis disposed inconvergent relation to the plane of the diaphragm, an impact wheelrotatably supported on said spindle, a spiral gear on said spindle, arack mounted to slide in a plane substantially parallel to the axis ofsaid spindle and provided with teeth inclined to match the spiral gearon the spindle and cooperating means on the rim of the impact wheel andsaid diaphragm for vibrating said diaphragm.

3'. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of adiaphragm, a rotatably supported impact wheel in rear of said diaphragmjournaled on an axis inclined down wardly and forwardly toward thediaphragm, a spiral gear carried by said wheel and an operating rackslidably mounted on a downward and forward incline substantiallyparallel to the axis of said impact wheel and provided with inclinedteeth matching the teeth of the spiral gear of the impact wheel.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

OLUF C. JENSEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

